Toy Story Mania! guests are transported into a 4-D world where they compete in virtual midway-style games hosted by characters from the Disney-Pixar films “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” including Woody, Hamm and Rex. Donning 3-D glasses and using spring-action shooters, guests launch virtual darts at balloons, rings at aliens and eggs at whimsical barnyard targets to see who can rack up the most points. Guests may even experience some special 4-D effects during different parts of the game.

Toy Story Mania! Fun Facts

Each ride vehicle weighs as much as 8,580 Woody dolls.

It would take 5,026 toy soldiers lined up end-to-end to make up the total track length.

Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Walt Disney Imagineering is creating an attraction for two Disney Parks simultaneously.

It has been estimated that, each day, guests may break over one million virtual plates using the spring-action shooters.

Riders in the Sky, the award winning group that wrote the songs that Mr. Potato Head performs as part of the attraction, is the same group that wrote “Woody’s Roundup” for the “Toy Story” feature films.

This is the first attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering designed where the Imagineers had to wear 3-D glasses to art direct all the black-light paint elements.

The murals located in the load area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are the biggest murals painted since Epcot was built.

In order to create a show that responds not only to every pull of a guest’s spring-action shooter, but also every move their midway tram makes, there are over 150 computers communicating over multiple networks throughout the attraction.

At Toy Story Mania! every guest gets to experience life at the size of a toy. So in Andy’s room, a 5 foot 6 inch person will feel about 14″ tall.

More time was spent programming Mr. Potato Head than for any other Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.

Mr. Potato Head will be able to say more lines of dialogue than any Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.

The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure is the first time that an Audio-Animatronics figure can remove a body part and re-attach it (in the case of his ear).

The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure has new, highly expressive and animated eyes that can look directly at a particular guest in the queue when speaking to him/her.

Mr. Potato Head marks the first Audio-Animatronics figure whose mouth appears to form words and vowel sounds.

Game:

In each of the Toy Story Mania! games, there is at least one “easter egg” — targets that can trigger the appearance of bonus high-value targets and other changes in the scene.

Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Woody and Buzz Lightyear (along with some of their friends) from the Disney-Pixar “Toy Story” films appear together in a ride-through attraction.

Watch for loose change in the prize scene — Hamm is carrying more than $6 in coins when his cork pops.

Nice to Know:

Because of the indoor nature of the attraction and to keep the guest experience fun for all, flash photography or video is not allowed on Toy Story Mania!

Everyone can play! There is no height or age restriction for guests to experience Toy Story Mania!

Actual ride time aboard Toy Story Mania! is a full five minutes.

Ready, aim, fire! Players have 30 seconds in each game play area to score points.

A beeline to fun! Toy Story Mania! utilizes Disney’s FASTPASS, a return voucher offering little or no waiting time at select attractions. Single riders also have their own queuing option for Toy
Story Mania!

One of the greatest and often under-appreciated elements of Disney’s Hollywood Studios are the "Streemoshere Characters." These street performers show up on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard to complete the illusion that you have traveled to Hollywood of the 30’s and 40’s.

Part of the magic involves the use of scripted, and often improvisational "acts" along the streets, often times with Guest involvement (sometimes unsuspecting Guest involvement!) . The list blow references characters that represent some of the "citizens" of Hollywood, stars and starlets, headliner "acts," directors, producers, acting coaches, and even the local law enforcement. This is is not all-inclusive, and it shoudl be noted that many acts (and actors) come and go, so the list many not include all performers that you many see at any given time.

And the best way to enjoy the Streemosphere characters is to help be a part of their act… feel free to approach them and strike up a conversation if you like… and if you don’t feel like participating, just be sure to applaud these talented performers for their work.

Concept:
The Disney-MGM Studios “family of stars” joins together to create a celebrity cavalcade featuring custom cars designed to immerse guests of all ages in a star-studded parade. Celebrities from television and the silver screen take over the streets of Disney-MGM Studios.

Parade Length:
25 min. (approximately)

Performed:
Daily

Location:
The parade steps off near the Star Tours attraction, travels down Hollywood Boulevard and exits near the entrance of the theme park.

Miscellaneous Facts:
This parade features guest participation. Selected guests will act as Grand Marshals. Fifteen cars and three motorcycles make up the cavalcade. Sixty-three character performers and 18 drivers participate.

Music:
The parade’s musical score was orchestrated by Gordon Goodwin and recorded in Los Angeles.

Design:
“Disney Stars and Motor Cars” parade costumes were designed by Douglas Enderle and created at Walt Disney World Creative Costuming.

Highlights:

â€œPower Rangersâ€ Unit — Five generations of televisionâ€™s Power Rangers — consisting of Time Force, Ninja Storm, Wild Force, Dino Thunder and Space Patrol Delta Power Rangers — ride in the parade in a sleek, black roadster with lightning bolts streaming from the hood and a giant fan arching over the trunk.

“Monsters, Inc.” Unit — Check out Sulley and his scare assistant Mike from the blockbuster hit movie. These colorful characters are larger than life.

“Mary Poppins” Unit — It’s a carousel of fun as Mary Poppins and Bert, along with the Dancing Penguins, stroll down the street alongside a colorful car with old-fashioned carousel horses dancing atop the vehicle.

The Muppets Unit — Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Sweetums travel in style inside a “floating” car. A giant balloon balances over this unit as the Muppets travel to Hollywood.

“Aladdin” Unit — A striking unit featuring Aladdin and Jasmine sitting right “on top” of the Genie. Guests also interact with the Harem Girls as they boogie down the parade route.

Evil Villains Unit — The characters you love to hate are all riding together on this ‘wicked’ float. From Hades to Cruella De Vil to Jafar, the Wicked Queen and Captain Hook, these
scoundrels keep each other company atop a stretch limo — painted black, of course.

“Lilo and Stitch” Unit — The stars of the hit animated motion picture surf into the parade in their woody adorned with surf boards and palm trees.

Mermaid Unit — Celebrate the sea with Ariel and Sebastian. From seashells to seahorses, favorite under-the-sea attendants “swim” through the streets of the Disney-MGM studios.

Finale Unit — This unit celebrates the glamour of tinseltown with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. Old favorites wrap up the parade with style as the characters sit inside a 1929 Cadillac decked out with filmstrips in classic Disney style. Other characters interacting with guests include Alice, White Rabbit, Pinocchio and Geppetto.

She’s coifed, bejeweled and snout-to-nose with her “captive” audience. He’s lean, green and close enough to reach out and touch. Together, Miss Piggy and Kermit star in the three-dimensional film of the century: “Muppet Vision 3-D” at Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World Resort.

The innovative “Muppet Vision 3-D” film puts Disney guests smack in the middle of the Muppets’ knee-slapping adventure, thanks to an astonishing array of special effects. Disney has combined 70mm film featuring the most advanced 3-D action and animation, a series of spectacular live effects and Disney’s famous Audio-Animatronics characters.

The 584-seat grand theater, adorned with plush red velvet drapes and gilded columns, was renovated by those zany Muppets to showcase the 3-D technology perfected at the “Really Really Super Tippy Top Secret MuppetVision 3-D Research Labs” by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker.

Promises Kermit as the show begins: “It’s going to be a great demonstration and at no time will we be stooping to cheap 3-D tricks.”

Statler and Waldorf aren’t above stooping to a few cheap Muppet jokes, however, as the caustic Muppet critics review the show from their right-hand mezzanine perch.

In the orchestra pit, Nicki Napoleon and his Emperor Penguins tune up for the show’s musical numbers, and at the rear of the theater, the Swedish Chef commandeers the projection paraphernalia assembled haphazardly in time for the show’s debut.

And what a show it is. Miss Piggy pushes her musical talents to the limit and Fozzie Bear takes a pie in the face as Kermit delivers guests into a new 3-D realm. His tour into the top-secret 3-D research lab puts audience members face-to-face with Waldo, a new character who’s prone to devilishness with a capital “3-D.”

When the Muppet antics get messy, VacuuMuppet takes the stage to sweep temporary control of the situation. But when Sam the Eagle launches his patriotic parade of Americana, sparks fly once again.

Before the theater “explodes” in a grand finale, all 584 guests will thrill to show-stopping effects that include squirting boutonnieres, bubble showers, high winds, musket fire, cannon fire and a patriotic fiberoptics fireworks “Salute to All Nations But Mostly America.”

As The Great Gonzo sees it, “Now this is entertainment.”

The show is a joint effort by Jim Henson Productions, Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) — the design and engineering division of The Walt Disney Co.

To create the ideal setting for “Muppet Vision 3-D,” Imagineers designed a theater that brings the show directly into the audience. Muppet touches abound as part of the architecture’s ornamentation, including the Jules Verne-style projection contraption operated by the Swedish Chef.

By combining the authentic Muppet-theater atmosphere with animated figures, advanced 3-D technology and special effects, Imagineers were able to make the audience become part of the film.

Prior to the show, guests visit the theater’s “warehouse” antechamber, where entertainment includes Muppet musical numbers projected on a dozen screens rigged overhead. Guests also can browse among prop boxes filled with goodies that belong to Miss Piggy, Kermit and other Muppet stars.

Unlike the process that is used in most 3D shows requiring red and blue lenses in the 3d glasses, all of the Disney 3D presentations, including Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3-D, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, use a process known as “reverse polarization.”

The smoke-colored glasses that you must wear in these attractions allow your brain to interpret slight differences in the angles between frames. This method has many advantages, including that it can be added to a film after completion of the shooting of the movie.

Miss Piggy pays homage to the Statue of Liberty in the fountain in front of Muppet Vision 3D. Unlike the original statue (which also doesn’t have water spouting from her crown), Miss Piggy’s sash reads, “Ms. Liberty.”

The Swedish Chef runs the projector from the back of the MuppetVision 3D theater. Turn around and take a look! Remember, in Walt Disney World, there are often things to see that may not be directly in front of you! In any attraction, be sure to take a little time to look around, as some of the details are fascinating, funny, and often overlooked.

Another great tidbit? – Miss Piggy pays homage to the Statue of Liberty in the fountain in front of Muppet Vision 3D. Unlike the original statue (which also doesn’t have water spouting from her crown), Miss Piggy’s sash reads, “Ms. Liberty.” The “fishermice” below are sailing in a boat called the “Wretched Refuse” (a fun nod to the poem carved on the base of the real (not Piggy!) Statue of Liberty). (thanks to Sharla)

]]>http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/jim-hensons-muppet-vision-3-d/feed/0Goosebumps Horrorland (Closed)http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/goosebumps-horrorland-closed/
http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/goosebumps-horrorland-closed/#commentsWed, 10 Oct 2007 22:23:33 +0000http://www.wdwradio.com/?p=3101Goosebumps Horrorland was a funhouse style show that appeared briefly during the Halloween season

Located in the Disney-MGM Studios, the Hercules Zero to Hero Victory Parade began on June 27, 1997 and ran until 1998 when it was replaced by the Mulan parade.

Unique to this parade was the “Theban Family of the Day,” which was a Guest family that would don togas and ride in a chariot to head the parade.

The parade ran two times a day, and also featured rousing Gospel-inspired songs, and parade commentary from “Ridges Philbinylus” and “Appollonia Airheadenese.” Of course, characters from the movie, including Phil, Megara and Pegasus also appeared.

]]>http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/hercules-zero-to-hero-victory-parade-closed-1998/feed/0Toy Story Parade (Closed 1996)http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/toy-story-parade-closed-1996/
http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/toy-story-parade-closed-1996/#commentsWed, 10 Oct 2007 22:09:26 +0000http://www.wdwradio.com/?p=3098The Toy Story Parade ran in 1996 and culminated with a short show called "Operation […]

]]>http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/toy-story-parade-closed-1996/feed/0Muppets on Location: The Days of Swine and Roses (Closed)http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/muppets-on-location-the-days-of-swine-and-roses-closed/
http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/10/muppets-on-location-the-days-of-swine-and-roses-closed/#commentsTue, 09 Oct 2007 00:04:29 +0000http://www.wdwradio.com/?p=3097Muppets on Location: The Days of Swine and Roses (Closed) opened in September, 1991 and […]